Iran edges past host Philippines to reach Volleyball World Championship Round of 16

Iran advances to the round of 16 in the the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship after securing a thrilling 3–2 victory over host nation the Philippines on Thursday. 

The match, held at the 20,000-seat Asia Arena in Manila, saw Iran bounce back from an opening set loss to clinch the win with set scores of 21-25, 25-21, 17-25, 25-23, and 22-20. The victory was Iran’s second in three group stage matches, ensuring its progression as the second-placed team in Group A.

Under the guidance of head coach Roberto Piazza, Iran struggled initially, overwhelmed by the passionate home crowd.

Philippines took the first set 25-21, capitalizing on strong serves and home advantage. However, Iran responded decisively in the second set, powered by high-speed serves exceeding 115 km/h.

A tactical substitution by Piazza in the second set—bringing in libero Arman Salehi in place of outside hitter Amirhossein Esfandiar—strengthened Iran’s reception and shifted momentum. Despite setbacks in the third set, where Philippines dominated 25-17, Iran remained resilient.

The fourth set featured a tense battle with multiple lead changes, ending 25-23 in Iran’s favor and pushing the match to a decisive fifth set.

In the final nerve-wracking rally, Iran survived six match points for the Philippines, delivering an exceptional performance to close out the match 22-20.

A pivotal moment came at 20-18 in the fifth set, with Philippines leading. Iran’s coaching staff requested a video challenge, which overturned the call and leveled the score at 19-19. This reversal proved crucial, allowing Iran to regain composure and ultimately prevail.

Three players shared the top scorer honors with 22 points each, and two of them were Iranian. Outside hitter Pourya Khanzadeh, 21, hit 19 points in offense at a 66% success rate and fired three aces. Opposite Ali Hajipour also produced 19 attacking points, at a 53% success rate, and put up three kill blocks.

Philippines’ outside and captain Bryan Bagunas also finished with 22 points. He spiked 18 points at a 60% success rate and added three blocks and an ace to his match-high tally. 

“When you are playing with fear, it is difficult to play, because you are not able to analyze the situation. This is what I felt in the third set and in some moments of the fourth set, and also during the tie-breaker, when we lost some really easy balls, just because we were afraid to play those balls," Piazza said after the game. 

"We do not have a lot of experience because we changed a lot from last season, but experience cannot just be the reason,” he said. “Winning was really important and the only positive, because I know that we didn’t play at our level at this tournament until now.”

The match lasted 128 minutes and was officiated by first referee Sinisa Ovuka from Bosnia and Herzegovina and second referee Mohammad Ismail Fahd. 

Iran’s lineup included Arshia Behnejad, Morteza Sharifi, Yousef Kazemi, Ali Hajipour, Pourya Hossein Khanzadeh, Mohammad Valizadeh, and libero Arman Salehi. Substitute players Amirhossein Esfandiar, Ali Ramezani, Ehsan Daneshdoost, Mohammadreza Hazratpour, Ali Haghparast, and Bardia Saadat also contributed.

With this victory, Iran advances to the knockout stage, poised to contend for a deeper run in the tournament.

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